Marissa Ray, Entry #3

Fracking; it’s the more profitable and cleaner way to get natural gas. One would think that the practice would be every government’s dream, they don’t have to be as dependent on other countries for oil. Fracking seems to have super powers, not only has it started the U.S. down a path to energy dependence and flooded parts of the nation with money, but it has also cut out much of the carbon dioxide emissions that bring on climate change. But just like every super, fracking has a chink in its armor. In his article “The huge downside to fracking that everyone is ignoring”, Ryan Cooper explains that while fracking is much more profitable than coal, the risks that it poses to both the environment and people in the area outweigh the benefits is regulations continue at their current level.

Incidents like the chemical spill in West Virginia can’t be ignored by the government. The environment there has become deplorable and the citizens in the surrounding area were left without a clean source of water for days. Further, fracking also opens the door wider for corruption. Cooper writes “Texas is awash with oil money, and the drillers have bought up the whole state political system with it”. The corruption that fracking has brought into the Texan government has also harmed the environment in the sense that funds for air monitoring equipment has dropped from $1.2 million to less than $600 thousand. In order to save both the environment and the health of the people that live around area the government must enforce stronger regulations on fracking companies. These regulations would decrease the chance of repeats of the West Virginia chemical spill and would lessen corruption’s influence on the government. Though fracking has negative effects on the environment, it is necessary to increasing the US’s energy independence and benefiting the economy.